Wall trench panel and system

ABSTRACT

A wall trench panel and system utilizes extruded aluminum panels having ribs and a socket edge and a ball edge which allows them to slide together and create a continuous trench wall that may be stabilized using traditional jack and wale techniques. To allow the trench to make a corner, a knuckle is provided which accepts both ball and socket edges of the panels to change the direction of the panels. In deep trench situations, panels of different sizes are provide to stager the installation of the panels which provides a continuous trench wall that is very strong and stable which eliminates the necessity of staging the trench in ever smaller portions.

This application claims priority and herein incorporates by reference U.S. provisional patent application 62/375,073, filed Aug. 15, 2016.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Excavation is known to be hazardous and collapses in trench supports take many lives each year. Even though we have made great strides improving trench safety, it remains very dangerous. A trench is defined as a narrow excavation that is deeper than it is wide. Trenching done in an emergency situation can be particularly dangerous because of need to quickly support the trench during search and rescue operations.

There is a need for a simple and easy to use trench wall panel system that allows a user to reinforce and support a trench both for emergency rescues and for routine trench construction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A wall trench panel and system utilizes extruded aluminum panels having ribs and a socket edge and a ball edge which allows them to slide together and create a continuous trench wall that may be stabilized using traditional jack and wale techniques. To allow the trench to make a corner, a knuckle is provided which accepts both ball and socket edges of the panels to change the direction of the panels. In deep trench situations, panels of different sizes are provide to stager the installation of the panels which provides a continuous trench wall that is very strong and stable which eliminates the necessity of staging the trench in ever smaller portions.

Other features and advantages of the instant invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of a shoring panel according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the shoring panel shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a knuckle according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the knuckle shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of multiple shoring panels connected together in typical use.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of multiple shoring panels connected together and a corner formed by using a knuckle.

FIG. 7 is a top view of multiple shoring panels connected together and using a knuckle to provide a corner.

FIG. 8 is a top view of multiple shoring panels connected together in a situation showing flexibility in following a non-linear topography.

FIG. 9 is a top view of a contained area using a closed wall trench panel and system according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a cut-away side view of a typical closed wall trench panel and system installed in a trench and showing supporting mechanisms.

FIG. 11 is a cut-away side view of the closed wall trench panel and system being installed in a deep trench application.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a closed wall trench panel installation using staggered panels.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the drawings in which reference numerals refer to like elements, and which are intended to show by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Referring to figures, a trench wall panel and system 100 is shown having an extruded shoring panel 110 which has a socket 120 along one outer edge and a ball 125 along an opposing end. Each shoring panel 110 slides into a corresponding end to form a continuous wall of shoring panels 110 to support the earth 150 to form a trench 170 lined with shoring panels 110. A plurality of ribs 115 are used to provide structural stability and rigidity to shoring panel 110. Of course, although shoring panel 110 is shown with two ribs 115, any number of ribs 115 may be used. In addition to providing additional strength to shoring panel 110, ribs 115 also act as a guide for construction supports when using a wooden framework for support.

In use, any number of shoring panels 110 may be used to provide a trench wall of a desired length as needed. In a use where it is necessary to form a corner, a knuckle 130 is provided to join two shoring panels 110 to form a corner. Knuckle 130 has a pair of knuckle sockets 135 along opposing edges and a pair of knuckle balls 140 at 900 which allows corresponding joining portions (socket 120 and ball 125) of shore panels 110 to join at an angle to form the corner. Both shoring panels 110 and knuckles 130 are made of extruded aluminum to provide high strength and light weight. Of course other materials may be used such as, but not limited to, sheet metal, zinc coated metal, etc. or even composite materials as long as the material can be formed with the ribs and connecting structures.

Now referring to FIG. 8, a top view of shoring panels 110 being placed to follow an irregular trench boundary. This is particularly important in an emergency situation where you need to stabilize a trench collapse to reach and rescue trapped individuals where it may not be possible to carefully place the trench panels.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a top view of trench wall panel and system 100 is shown forming a completely bounded area by using the selected panels and knuckles to form the boundary desired. This may be used in situation where water is an issue. Although shown as a square installation, other configurations are possible using the appropriate number of panels and knuckles as needed.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show a typical trenching operation using shoring panels 110 and braced with jacks 160 and wales 165. The braces may be wood or may be hydraulic jacks depending on the situation encountered and the available resources of the user. In hydric soils, sand, gravel, etc. anything that is somewhat loose or granular, the soil is continually leaking through into the trench delaying rescue and also changing the dynamics of the soil pressures outside the trench and making a secondary collapse more likely. Closed wall trench panel and system 100 prevents the majority of leaking while adding structural strength and unitizes trench 170. It also speeds up the process of installing trench panels as they simply slide together. You simple place the first panel, stabilize it and then build from there. While prior art methods are adequate under perfect conditions, in real life situations, especially under time critical emergency conditions, closed wall trench panel and system 100 provides a system that works in imperfect real life conditions such as where the trench is curved or sloughed off in an irregular manner.

Referring now to FIG. 12, a staggered trench wall is shown using two different size panels 110, and 112. In this way, a very tall wall may be constructed without having to use the “inverted layer cake” method shown in FIG. 11. This is particularly important in emergency situations where having to construct different layers can significantly increase the time taken to construct. The instant method of staggering the size of the panels to provide deep trenches is significantly faster to construct and stabilize the trench. Although two different size panels are shown, other combinations of varying size panels may be used.

Although the instant invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A wall trench system comprising: a shoring panel; a ball end disposed along a side edge of said shoring panel; a socket end disposed along an opposite side edge of said shoring panel; at least a first rib proximally disposed to said ball end; at least a second rib proximally disposed to said socket end; said ball end forming a cylindrical interlocking edge along said side edge and whereby said ball end is adapted to fit within a selected socket end; and said socket end forming a partially open tubular interlocking edge along said opposite edge and whereby said socket end is adapted to fit with a selected ball end.
 2. The wall trench system according to claim 1 further comprising: a knuckle; said knuckle having two oppositely disposed knuckle ball ends; each said knuckle ball end forming a cylindrical interlocking edge along said oppositely disposed knuckle ball end; said knuckle having two oppositely disposed socket ends; each said socket end forming a partially open tubular interlocking edge along each oppositely disposed socket end; and wherein each of said two oppositely disposed knuckle ball ends are 90 degrees from each of said two oppositely disposed socket ends.
 3. The wall trench system according to claim 1 whereby said shoring panel is made of extruded aluminum.
 4. The wall trench system according to claim whereby said knuckle is made of extruded aluminum.
 5. A method of constructing a wall trench comprising the steps of: obtaining at least two shoring panels; each of said at least two shoring panels comprising; a ball end disposed along a side edge of said shoring panel; a socket end disposed along an opposite side edge of said shoring panel; at least a first rib proximally disposed to said ball end; at least a second rib proximally disposed to said socket end; said ball end forming a cylindrical interlocking edge along said side edge and whereby said ball end is adapted to fit within a selected socket end; said socket end forming a partially open tubular interlocking edge along said opposite edge and whereby said socket end is adapted to fit with a selected ball end; and sliding said ball end of one of said at least two shoring panel into a corresponding socket end of another shoring panel.
 6. The method of constructing a wall trench according to claim 5 further comprising the step of repeating said step of sliding said ball end of one of said at least two shoring panel into a corresponding socket end of another shoring panel to produce a selected size trench.
 7. The method of constructing a wall trench according to claim 5 further comprising the step of obtaining at least one knuckle; wherein said at least one knuckle comprises; two oppositely disposed knuckle ball ends; each said knuckle ball end forming a cylindrical interlocking edge along said oppositely disposed knuckle ball end; two oppositely disposed socket ends; each said socket end forming a partially open tubular interlocking edge along each oppositely disposed socket end; and wherein each of said two oppositely disposed knuckle ball ends are 90 degrees from each of said two oppositely disposed socket ends; sliding said knuckle onto a selected interlocking edge of one of said at least two shoring panels whereby said at least two shoring panels are securely joined together; and repeating the step of sliding a selected ball end into a corresponding socket end to produce a trench of a desired length.
 8. The method of constructing a wall trench according to claim further comprising the steps of: selecting at least two different length shoring panels; said at least two different length shoring panels including a long panel and a short panel; connecting said long and said short panels to each other in a staggered pattern to provide a supported trench having a desired height.
 9. The method of constructing a wall trench according to claim 8 further comprising the step of reinforcing said at least two shoring panels using at least one wale.
 10. The method of constructing a wall trench according to claim 9 further comprising the step of reinforcing said at least one wale with at least one jack.
 11. The method of constructing a wall trench system according to claim 5 further comprising a first step of digging a selected trench.
 12. A method of constructing a closed wall trench comprising the steps of: obtaining at least four shoring panels; each of said at least four shoring panels comprising; a ball end disposed along a side edge of said shoring panel; a socket end disposed along an opposite side edge of said shoring panel; at least a first rib proximally disposed to said ball end; at least a second rib proximally disposed to said socket end; said ball end forming a cylindrical interlocking edge along said side edge and whereby said ball end is adapted to fit within a selected socket end; said socket end forming a partially open tubular interlocking edge along said opposite edge and whereby said socket end is adapted to fit with a selected ball end; obtaining at least four knuckles; each of said at least four knuckles comprising; two oppositely disposed knuckle ball ends; each said knuckle ball end forming a cylindrical interlocking edge along said oppositely disposed knuckle ball end; and said knuckle having two oppositely disposed socket ends; each said socket end forming a partially open tubular interlocking edge along each oppositely disposed socket end; sliding a first knuckle of said at least four knuckles onto a selected matching interlocking edge of a first shoring panel of said at least four shoring panels; sliding a second knuckle onto a free end of said first shoring panel; sliding a second shoring panel onto said first knuckle orthogonally to said first shoring panel; sliding a third knuckle onto a free end of said second shoring panel; sliding a third shoring panel onto said third knuckle orthogonally to said second panel; sliding a fourth knuckle onto a free end of said third shoring panel; and sliding a fourth shoring panel between said first knuckle and said fourth knuckle and orthogonally to said first and third shoring panel and parallel to said second shoring panel wherein a closed wall trench is formed.
 13. The method of constructing a closed wall trench system according to claim 12 further comprising a first step of digging a selected trench.
 14. The method of constructing a closed wall trench system according to claim 12 further comprising adding at least one more shoring panel to enlarge a trench.
 15. The method of constructing a closed wall trench system according to claim 12 whereby said shoring panels and said knuckles are made of extruded aluminum. 